Because wireless data connections use radio signals that are propagated in the constantly changing and somewhat unpredictable freespace environment, those connections are subject to high bit error rates. Correction of these errors requires frequent data retransmissions over the wireless connection, which causes throughput degradation due to the delay incurred during the error correction process. This delay takes on added significance when one considers that most higher layer protocols for a substantial number of application processes implement error-recovery on an end-to-end basis. To make matters worse, unexpectedly high bit error rates cause certain widely used higher layer protocols, such as TCP/IP, to automatically initiate flow control procedures which further decrease throughput. The resulting low throughput of wireless data connections is most disconcerting to users because of the relatively high cost of wireless data communications.